Covered package with initially sealed but releasable closure flap



March 5, 1957 L. l. voLcKENlNG ErAL 2,783,877

COVERED PACKAGE WITH INITIALLY SEALED BUT RELEASABLE CLOSURE FLAP 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 30, 1954 lllflllllfall ya* John j?. @Meara Fm 72k J Zefe JZ@ 1y,

. I/fa BY f i y WATTORNEY March 5, 1957 x.. voLcKr-:NING ETAL 2,783,877

COVERED PACKAGE WITH INITIALLY SEALED BUT REILEASABLE CLOSURE FLAP Filed April 30, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MTTORNEY United States Patent O COVERED PACKAGE WTH ITIALLY SEALED BUT RELEASABLE CLOSURE FLAP Lloyd I. Volckeuing, Glen Ridge, .lohn R. OMeara, Scotch Plains, and Frank J. Lefebvre, Caldwell, N. J., assignors to Ivers-Lee Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application April 30, 1954, Seriai No. 426,706 Claims. (Cl. 2136-46) This invention relates to packages of the general type shown in Patent No. 2,457,924, dated January 4, 1949, and in our co-pending application Serial No. 421,894, filed April S, 1954, for small articles such as tablets or for liquid, powder or paste, the package comprising in general an approximately hat, rectangular bag, envelope or like container, preferably formed of sheet material having a thermoplastic coating, and a cover formed of a single strip of material relatively stiller than the material of which said container is formed, said cover having one end portion folded around one end of the container and secured to the container adjacent the fold with a marginal end portion of the cover beyond the fold spaced from the container and with the body portion of the cover juxtaposed to one side of the container and folded around the other end of the container to form a closure flap that is of a size to cover the side of the container opposite the body portion of the cover and has its edge releasably tucked between said marginal end portion of the cover and said container so that the closure ap is held against unfolding but can be pulled from beneath said marginal end portion and unfolded to open the package.

When such packages are handled roughly, or when the contents of the container are bulky so that the c011- tainer is thick or bulges at its opposite sides, said cover flap may be accidentally pulled or displaced from between said marginal end portion of the cover and the container so as to expose the container and also hinder the free handling and packing of the package in cartons for shipment.

In our above-mentioned co-pending application is described and claimed a package wherein one edge portion of the container is sealed between the body portion of the cover and a container-attaching ap at one end of said Vbody portion, and at least a portion of the edge of the closure ilap is initially positively secured between said cover-attaching llap and the adjacent side of the container, said portion of the closure flap being manually separable from the closure ap to release the latter from the package. In this construction, said portion of the edge zone of the closure ap produces a bulge in the por tion of the package at which the container is secured between the body portion of the cover and the coverattaching ap, the overall thickness in said zone being greater than the thickness at the other portionsof the container-attaching ilap, which, when the cover and container are thermoplastically sealed together, may require special care and expensive dies specially shaped to effect a perfect sealed connection of the attaching ap and the container.

2,783,877 Patented Mar. 5, 1957 A prime object of the present invention is to provide a package of this general nature wherein said zone of the closure flap that is initially sealed shall lie in approximately the same plane as the container-attaching ap, so that there shall be the same number of thicknesses of material throughout the zone of connection of the container attaching flap, container, body portion of the cover and said portion of the closure ap.

Another object is to provide such a package wherein the container-attaching'ap shall have a cut-away portion that exposes one side of the container through the cutaway portion, and the closure llap` shall have a portion lying in said cut-away portion and initially secured to said side of the container and being manually separable from the closure flap for opening the package.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought` out by the following description in con junction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the commodity-container and the cover of the package in partially assembled condition;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a complete package with the closure flap in initially sealed condition;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of the vline 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a similar view on the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 5-5 of Figure 2, with portions broken away;

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the package shown in Figure 2 with the closure llap in released condition for opening the package;

Figure 7 is a view like Figure 2 showing a modification of the invention;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of age in partially folded condition, tion ofthe invention;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a complete package including a cover like that of Figure 8;

Figure 10 s a similar view showing a modication of the package;

Figure 11 is a view like tion of the invention;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a complete package including the cover shown in Figure 1 l;

Figure 13 is a similar view of a. modification of the the cover of the packillustrating a modifica- Figure 8 of another modificapackage;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the package shown in Figure 12 with the closure ap in released condition;

Figure 15 is a perspective View like Figure 8 ofl a cover embodying another modification of the invention;

Figure 16 is a perspectiver view of a complete package including the cover of Figure l5;

Figure 17 is a similar view showing the closure flap in released condition;

Figure 18 is anenlarged vertical sectional view on the plane of the line 18-18 of Figure 16; and

Figure 19 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view on the plane of the line 19-19 of Figure 16.

The invention contemplates several different forms of packages one of which is shown inFigures -1-,6 inclusive.

The package is shown as comprising a container A formed of two layers 1 and 2 of suitable llexible material such as cellophane, pliofilm, metallic foil, paper or the like. The said material may be thermoplastic itself or may have a thermoplastic or fusible coating so that the juxtaposed layers can be caused to adhere together by application of heat and pressure, or the layers could be sealed together with an adhesive. As shown, the layers are heat sealed and crimped in zones 3 forming and bounding compartments 4 between the layers in which a commodity such as tablets 5 are enclosed, the container thus comprising a sheet of packages, each containing a tablet and being separable from the sheet along lscored lines 6; and the sheet preferably has an edge portion 7 extending beyond the package and being initially unsealed.

, The cover B comprises a single strip of sheet material such as heavy paper that is relatively stiller than the layers of which the container A is formed and includes a body portion 8 juxtaposed to one side of the container and folded at 9 around one edge portion 7 of the con- I tainer to form a container-attaching flap 10 that is secured adjacent the fold to the container A for example, by application of heat and pressure where the layers 1 and 2 are thermoplastic or have thermoplastic coatings,

the transverse marginal end portion of the flap being Y spaced from the container. Preferably the sealed zone yis also crimped as indicated at 11. The body portion 8 of the cover is of approximately the same shape but somewhat larger than the container A in length and breadth and at the end of the body portion opposite the v fold 9 there is another fold 12 in the strip around the edge or end of the container opposite the attaching edge 7, and beyond said fold 12 is a closure flap portion 13 that is of a size and shape to cover the side of the container opposite the body portion 8 of the cover; and the transverse end edge zone of said closure ap is adapted to tuck into .the space between the transverse marginal end portion of the container-attaching ap 10 andthe container, as best shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The container-attaching ap 10 has a portion thereof cut away, as indicated at 14, providing a gap intermediate the width thereof to expose one side of the container A through the cut-away portion, particularly along the edge portion 7 of the container.

A tab 15 projects integrally beyond said end edge of the closure llap and lies in the gap formed by said cutaway portion 14 in direct contact with the adjacent side of the container, and the tab 15 is permanently secured to the container. This may be etected by the softening or fusing of the thermoplastic substance where the container is formed of material that is itself thermoplastic or has a thermoplastic coating, but the seal or connection may yalso be made with any suitable adhesive or other-wise. Preferably the zone of the closure iiap at the juncture of the tab 15 with the main portion of the closure ap is weakened as by scoring or perforations 15 before the tab is sealed so that after the package has been completed with the closure flap sealed as described, the closure ap may be torn along the weakened zone 15 to detach it from the tab and thereby permit the edge portion of the closure flap to be pulled from between the container-attaching flap 10 and the container and then swung into open position to expose the container. Figure 6 shows the closure ap swung into partially open position, and by swinging the closure flap about the fold 12 as a hinge, the packagecan be completely opened to expose the container VA for removal of the contents of the container. Thereafter the closure ap can be tucked between the container-attaching ap and the container to close the package again if desired.

A modiiication of the invention is shown in Figure 7 where the edge zone of the closure flap is initially disposed outside and overlying the marginal end portion of the container-attaching ap.

Figures 8 and 9 show another package embodying the invention which includes a cover C in general similar to the cover B but having cut-away portions providing gaps 16 at the side edges of the container-attaching flap 17 so that the container is exposed at said cut-away portions; and the closure flap 18 of the cover has tabs 19 initially lying in said cut-away portions and permanently sealed, e. g., thermoplastically, to the adjacent side of the container. The portion of the end edge of the closure ap beneath said tabs may be tucked into the space between the marginal edge zone of the container-attaching flap as shown in Figure 9 or may overlie said marginal end portion of the container-attaching flap as shown in Figure 10.

Figures ll-l4 inclusive illustrate further modifications of the package. Here the cover D has an opening 2t) providing a gap in the container-attaching ap extending from the fold 21 between said iiap and the body portion of the cover to a point in spaced relation to the free end edge of the container-attaching flap. The closure Hap 22 has a tab 23 extending from the end edge thereof to lie in said opening 20 in direct contact with the adjacent wall of the container, with the end edge of the closure tlap outside and overlying the marginal end portion of the container-attaching ap as shown in Figure 12, or with said end edge of the closure flap tucked beneath said marginal end portion of the container-attaching flap as shown in Figure 13. The tab 23 is permanently secured to the container in any suitable way, preferably thermoplastically, and preferably a weakened zone 24 is provided between the tab and the main portion of the closure flap to permit tearing of the closure flap for releasing it as shown in Figure 14.

Figures 15-19 inclusive show another package embodying a modication of the invention. In this package the container-attaching flap 25 of the cover E is shorter than the container-attaching flaps hereinbefore described, while the closure ap 26 is longer than the closure aps hereinbefore described so that the end edge of the closure ap may be conincident with the end of the body portion from which the container-attaching flap 25 extends. The container-attaching flap 25 is cut away to provide gaps at its opposite side edges as indicated at 27 and the corner portions 28 of the end edge zone of the closure ap are permanently secured to the container in said cut-away portions as best shown in Figures 17 and 18, with the portion of the closure flap between said corner portions overlying the container-attaching ap 25 as shown in Figures 16 and 19. Preferably weakened zones 28' are provided between said corner portions of the closure ap and the main portion thereof to permit the closure ap to be torn away from said corner portions as show in Figure 17, for opening the package.

It will be observed that in all forms of the invention the sealed zone of the package along the fold between the container-attaching ap and the body portion of the cover, is of uniform thickness throughout, that is, from one side edge to the other side edge of the cover, except Figure 16, said sealed zones being designated 11 in Figures 2 and 7, 29 in Figures 9 and 10, 30 in Figures 12-14 inclusive, andl in Figures 16-19 inclusive. Throughout said sealed zones there is only one thickness of the body portion of the cover, the two thicknesses of the wall layers of the container, and the thickness of the container-attaching flap and of the corresponding tab or tabs that lie in the same plane with the container-attaching flap. Accordingly all portions of the sealed zone can be uniformly and easily sealed and the sealed zone is free of any bulges or protuberances.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that many other modifications and changes may be made in the construction and combination of the cover and the container within the spirit and scope of the invention.

To avoid circumlocution, the term commodity-container is used in the appended claims to denote'ba'gs,

envelopes or the like containing a plurality of articles such as tablets, or a powder, liquid or paste, as well as assemblages or groups of commodities held together in some other way, for example, strips of matches.

What we claim is:

1. A package comprising an approximately at commodity container having two opposed walls with outer thermoplastic surfaces, and a cover having a body portion and a second portion one of which is juxtaposed to each of opposite sides of said container and thermoplastically secured thereto with one end of the container projecting beyond said second portion and uncovered thereby, said cover also having a third portion connected to the body portion and disposed in overlying and covering relation to said projecting end of the container and serving as a closure ap, said second portion being in relatively overlapping relation and said second portion having a part thereof cut away and providing a gap through which a portion of one of said thermoplastic outer surfaces of the container is exposed, and said third portion of the cover having a zone thereof disposed in said gap in direct contact with and permanently thermoplastically sealed to said portion of the surface of the container that is exposed through said gap to positively hold said closure ap in said overlying relation to said container, said closure flap being otherwise free of said container and there being provision for manual separation of said closure ap from said sealed zone thereof to release the closure ap for swinging thereof away from the container to provide access to the container.

2. A package comprising an approximately flat commodity-container having an outer thermoplastic surface, and a cover comprising a strip of flexible material having a fold providing a body portion with a containerattaching flap, one edge portion of said container being disposed in said fold in juxtaposition to said body portion with one side positively secured to said body portion and with the other side at least partially covered by and positively thermoplastically secured to at least a part of said container-attaching ap, said containerattaching ap having a cut-away portion providing a gap through which another portion of said second-mentioned side of the container is exposed, said body portion having a closure flap hinged at the end of the body portion opposite said container-attaching flap and of a size and shape to overlie the second-mentioned side of said container, and means initially positively securing the end edge zone of said closure ap to the second-mentioned side of said container with the closure ap in overlying relation to said container, said means including a porsassari tion of said end edge zone vof said closure ap disposed in said gap formed by said cut-away portion and thermoplastically secured to said portion of the second-mentioned side of the container that is exposed in said gap, the remainder of said closure llap being free of said container and of said attaching flap and there being means providing for manual separation of said portion of said end edge zone of the closure flap from the closure flap to release the closure flap for swinging thereof away from said container to provide access to the container.

3. A package as defined in claim 2 wherein said ,cutaway portion of the container-attaching ilap is an opening extending approximately from said fold between said body portion and said container-attaching llap to a point in spaced relation to the free end edge of the container-attaching flap, and said portion of said end edge zone of the closure flap extends into said opening and beneath said free end edge of said container-attaching ap.

4. A package as defined in claim 2 wherein said portion ofthe end edge zone of the closure flap comprises a tab extending from the end edge of the closure ap, said cover is formed of tearable material and there is a weakened zone between said tab and the remainder of said closure flap along which said Iclosure flap may be torn to release said closure tlap for swinging away from said container.

5. A package as defined in claim 2 wherein said container-attaching flap khas a portion at each end thereof cut away and providing a gap through which portions of the second-mentioned side of the container are exposed, and there is a portion of the end edge zone of said closure flap disposed in each of said gaps and thermoplastically secured to the portions of the secondmentioned side of the container that are exposed in the respective side gaps.

References Cited n the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,383,735 McGurn July 5, 1921 1,776,923 Nemoede Sept. 30, 1930 1,869,742 Edmunds Aug. 2, 1932 2,218,509 Goodyear Oct. 22, 1940 2,254,545 Roberts Sept. 2, 1941 2,326,390 Platt Aug. 10, 1943 2,457,924 Salsberg Jan. 4, 1949 2,547,779 Renyck Apr. 3, 1951 2,658,613 Volckening Nov. 10, 1953 2,735,544 Guyer Feb. 21, 1956 

